WORKSHOP ON “REAL CHANGE”
26 – 28 January 2024
Join us for a three-day online workshop on the “Real Change.” We will meet for three consecutive days to explore the different parts that make up the human machine, understand the tool of self-observation, and how it can be used to transform ourselves. Each session will last one hour and will conclude with practical exercises. We will have a channel to share observations and questions which will be discussed the next day in the workshop. The meetings will be recorded and made available for later viewing.
Self-Observation
The human machine is more complex than any machine human beings have created. To change our machine, we have to first of all understand how our machine actually works. In the Fourth Way, we study the human being from the point of view of the three brains that make up our machine – intellectual, emotional and moving/instinctive. We will explore how each brain is filled with habits and use the fundamental tool of self-observation to study them and observe the repetitive and mechanical patterns that unfold within us throughout the day.
During the event we will practice self-observation exercises. Our aim will be to project a ray of light onto our inner processes that previously occurred in the dark. We will also share the challenges of prolonging this effort to observe ourselves.
UNDERSTANDING
The main challenge that gets in the way of true observation is our tendency to immediately be judgmental about our lifetime accumulation of habits and ways of thinking. When we attempt to alter or look away from what we see in ourselves, we’re essentially avoiding the reality of our machine. As Maurice Nicoll says, “Your Being attracts your life”. The more we stick to our routine patterns, including our judgments and immediate course corrections, the more clouded our observations will be.
Our aim will be to observe without immediately trying to change what we observe. To better understand this approach, we will take inspiration from studying works of art that reflect our inner states. In this way, we become familiar with the consequences of our repetitive behaviors and gain insight into how they shape our lives.
Rembrandt | Self-Portrait at 23
TRANSFORMATION
What does “Real Change” mean? To understand how change occurs, we will explore the Hindu myth of ‘The Churning of the Milky Ocean’. In this story, Devas and Asuras join forces to churn the ocean, resulting in the emergence of Amruta. We will explore the internal struggle, through the Devas (our aim and desire to transform) and the Asuras (our mechanical patterns). Pulling against our habitual repetitions, much like the churning of the ocean, generates friction which becomes the catalyst for heightened consciousness and marks the initial stages of genuine transformation. The aim will be to resist those automatic habits we identified in the previous two days by pulling against them.
We change Being, even a little, as not disliking so easily, not identifying with every worry, our life alters. Unless we change Being the taste of our life and our actual life-situations remain nearly the same.
The event will be led by Shourya, Amana and Arjun, coordinators of BePeriod’s Indian Community.
